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As a remote employee, her closest work friend was her computer screen. (Photo: Shutterstock)

She liked the work, but not the environment it was done in.

It's a story that's becoming increasingly common. As we move to a virtual workforce, with more and more remote employees and freelancers operating in locations far removed from central headquarters, work relationships are changing in substantive ways.

The employee I mentioned at the outset (a close friend) was a social media manager. She enjoyed the work, which she found creative and challenging. But she didn't enjoy the isolation she found herself working in, day after day.

Her sole companion was her computer screen. Her contacts with the outside working world consisted of occasional phone calls with her boss and occasional calls with (frequently frustrating) clients.

And that was about it.

She took to working in coffee shops and libraries just to get her out of her apartment and be around other humans, even if she wasn't exactly interacting with them.

While there isdata indicating that remote workers can sometimes be happier and more productive than their more corporate counterparts, no doubt this does depend on the person and the circumstances. And the potential for isolation and dissatisfaction, as my friend made clear to me, definitely does exist.

So what can management do to make remote workers feel part of the team, to keep them as engaged and productive as possible? Following are three suggestions.

Build rapport. While this is always important for managers to do with employees, it becomes extra important when the potential for isolation is greater. Whatever steps managers can take in this regard will likely be helpful. Regular status meetings. Video calls. Regular meetings with other team members. Positive recognition for tasks well done. While you never want to unnecessarily over-meeting someone (nor does it make good business sense to run meetings any longer than they need to be), in the remote world consistent communication can have an especially positive function. It keeps people connected. It can help them feel part of a larger whole.

Ensure goals and expectations are clear. Always a critical element of management, but again in the somewhat amorphous remote world, it makes productive sense to make it crystal clear exactly what success looks like. Good employees want to know they're doing a good job; it's only natural. Extra time spent developing solid clear measurable goals and objectives, and ensuring these goals are completely understood by remote employees, will be time well spent.

Show them they're valued. Yet again, this is always a key element of employee engagement, but I'd maintain the need is even greater when distance and isolation are complicating factors. Recent research I reported on shows that 66% of employees would quit for feeling unappreciated - and the number is higher still among the millennial workforce. All the more reason for employees who are separated from the main operation to know - to really feel - their work is valued by their manager... and valuable to the broader enterprise.

I often say good management is more common sense than rocket science, and this principle certainly applies to remote management. But it's almost as if in the remote world needs are amplified. Sound practices that are important when working in proximity become absolutely vital from a distance.

Thoughts from readers? Always interested to hear them...

Over two decades of Fortune 500 management experience. My book is "The Type B Manager" and my online Udemy courses are "The Manager's Mindset" and "How to Manage Difficult Employees." Long interested as practitioner in the subject of management, both good and bad, effective ...